Tag Archives: aging

Did you know that the fastest growing demographic of new yogis is the 55 and older set? Neither did I. I learned all sorts of fascinating facts, statistics, and new research from this week’s guest, Baxter Bell.

Together with his co-author, Nina Zolotow, Baxter has a new book, Yoga for Healthy Aging and that’s the main focus of this episode. I can’t think of two people better-positioned to write this book: Baxter spent years practicing medicine as a family doc before becoming a yoga therapist and practicing acupuncturist. Nina is the author of several books on yoga and is a certified yoga teacher, having studied extensively with esteemed teachers like Rodney Yee and Donald Moyer.

I don’t know about you, but Jason and I have tried— unsuccessfully!—to get our parents to do yoga. This book reminds me of how beneficial yoga practice is as we age. I think it’s a vital and meaningful book for any thoughtful yoga teacher’s toolkit.

In this week’s podcast we learn more about:

* The story behind Baxter and Nina’s new book Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Wellness * Why “health span” might be a better goal than a longer life span. * How holding yoga poses can assist with bone strength. * His perspective on “resting” the heart in addition to exercising it. * How spending time barefoot can assist with balance and proprioception as we age. * The importance of flexibility, agility, strength, and balance as we age—and how they overlap and influence each other. * The best thing we can do to improve cognitive function over time. (It’s not crossword puzzles)

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Kino MacGregor is an Ashtanga yogi in the lineage of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and is the co-owner of the Miami Life Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Kino also has a new book out called The Yogi Assignment, where she shares 30 days of “assignments” to help you bring the philosophy of yoga into everyday life. Kino talked to me about the surprising story of meeting her teacher for the first time, what it’s like to be trolled online, and how the yoga practice “ferments” with time. You can practice with Kino online on her new channel, Omstars.

Yogalandstories question this week: What’s one valuable way that your yoga practice has been of benefit to the people around you? Please submit your story on Instagram with a photo of yourself using the hashtag #yogalandstories and I’ll pick one to feature on my feed.

WRITE A REVIEW If you like the podcast, please leave a review or rating on iTunes! It makes it easier for others to find the podcast. If you don’t know how to leave a review, here are some step by step instructions. Woohoo! So easy!

I’m tired of the stale, depressing exercise and yoga advice for the “older set.” It too often characterizes people over 50 as weak, unfit, and fragile. There are now plenty of yogis who have been practicing for decades and are approaching their 50s, 60s, & 70s. Do you think they’re taking it easy? Nope. Neither do I.

Desiree Rumbaugh and Michelle Marchildon confirm that I am right! (And who doesn’t like to be right?) They’re the co-authors of the book — Fearless After Fifty: How to Thrive With Grace, Grit, and Yoga. Their book doesn’t sugarcoat the aging process — there are fears that come, there is loss. But it’s equally practical about the strength and wisdom that come with years of experience being on this planet and in this practice. It’s inspiring and fun to listen to them and hear their perspectives about the process that — if we’re lucky — we will all get to experience.

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Did you know that your shoulder complex has four joints on each side? This dynamic engineering allows us to do all of the things we do with our arms and hands. But it can leave the shoulder joints vulnerable if we don’t balance them with strength. In vinyasa yoga we ask the shoulders to do a lot early on in the practice (because Chaturanga). So, on this episode Jason talks ideas for offsetting this, the best ways to create balanced shoulder strength, plus proper alignment while lifting your arms overhead.

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Remember those moments, as a kid, when you just couldn’t wait to be a grown-up? You wanted to ride your bike with your friends after dark/dye your hair purple/sleep over at your boyfriend’s house and you agonized when your parents wouldn’t let you? Or do you remember feeling lost as a young adult and wishing that you had things “more figured out?”

Now, do you remember when the flip switched and you and your friends started lamenting, “Ugggggh. I’m soooooo old. How did this happen??!!”

I’m writing this on my 43rd birthday. And I want to erase the “I’m so old” lament phrase from my consciousness. I get it. I really do. I’ve been guilty of it. And I will cop to fact that the process of aging isn’t always easy. When you get carded until you’re 30, it’s hard to face the fact that you will never. Ever. Get. Carded. Again. And sure, to get a halfway decent selfie after the age of 35 you really have to hold the camera at the just right angle and 90% of the time it’s better for all of mankind if you delete it. (I am always barking at Jason, “Higher! Hold the camera higher!”)

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Andrea Ferretti and Jason Crandell are a husband and wife team who have been teaching, writing about, and living their yoga for nearly two decades. Andrea is creative director for Jason Crandell Yoga Method. Jason is an internationally recognized vinyasa yoga teacher. They live together in San Francisco with their full-time boss, Sofia-Rose Crandell, age 5. To find out where you can train with Jason live, check out the Schedule page.